The Open University (OU) was started in 1969 as a distance learning university with an open-access policy. Something around 180,000 students are enrolled.

Over the years it has developed in many ways and makes use of all the modern electrickery, string and technology in order to deliver education courses and content to anyone anywhere in the world.

A lot of the courses are paid-for but recently some free to learn options have been developed, including OpenLearn.

What is OpenLearn-ing?

OpenLearn is online learning that is open to anyone, anywhere in the world using materials taken from Open University courses. And it is completely free to use! Instead of attending classes, you study online in the LearningSpace, using materials that have been specially designed for distance learning.

OpenLearn does not:

• require you to be or become an Open University student
  grant degrees or award credits
• provide access to the services available to students registered on Open University courses, such as tutorial support

If you are interested in becoming an Open University student you might want to visit New to the OU.

OpenLearn is an opportunity for informal study – in your own time access materials in areas familiar or new to you, without the pressure of keeping to a timetable or sitting exams. Instead, assess your own progress by keeping an online learning journal, discussing the topics with other online learners in forums and completing self assessment exercises where you control when the answer is revealed. While OpenLearn isn’t exactly the same as studying at University, it gives real learning experiences taken from degree courses – and for free!

The sorts of courses relating to music include:-

• Creating Musical Sounds How do different instruments produce the sounds we classify as music? How do we decide whether something – a piano, a vacuum cleaner – is actually a musical instrument?
• Sound for Music Technology - An Introduction Whether you’re a professional musician, play music with your friends on the weekends or just like to listen to CDs, music technology affects your life. In this unit, you will learn some of the basics of music technology, starting with what sound ...
• Voice-Leading Analysis of Music 1: the foreground This unit introduces 'voice-leading' or 'Schenkerian' analysis, perhaps the most widely-used and discussed method of analysing tonal music. In this unit, this method is explained through the analysis of piano sonatas by Mozart. The unit ...

If anyone has any experience of these courses we’d be interested to know what they’re like - interesting? Useful? Any particular ones to be recommended?

Reference

• Open University - Wikipedia
• History of the OU - Open University

Choosing between long and short nails for playing Classical Guitar | Classical Guitar Home:

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The debate over long or short nails has raged since the dawn of the classical guitar and the right answer to this question is ‘It doesn’t matter’. But there are differences between the two styles and some things you should know before you decide which is right for you.

Some classical guitarists prefer to pluck the strings with the nails of their right hand while other guitarists prefer to keep their nails trimmed and to pluck the strings with the tips of their fingers. If you are a beginner classical guitarist you might be wondering which way you should play. You can start with no nails at all playing like that for one year or so.In that way you will find the right attack of the fingers. Only after that you could let them to grow.

Here are some insights about each way so you can make a decision as to which style is right for you…

Reference

Extract taken from article on CreativeGuitar.org blog

Well - what a tour! As usual (for these summer tours) it was a hectic combination of sight-seeing, rehearsals, performance and the occasional late night relaxation. Indeed - and again as ever - the weather was brilliant. This was a bit of a worry after the previous tours to France/Germany and Austria which were very hot and sunny. We needn’t have worried as the weather was organised to perfection.

After a very early start at stupid o’clock in the morning (traditional) we sailed from Liverpool on the Seacat ferry. Like a mill pond - don’t know what all the fuss was about. Luckily for those of us with large instruments the hotel was a short walk from the ferry terminal in Douglas and we had Jem and his ‘burger van’ to ferry kit around.

In brief the itinery was:-

• Thurs 24th July. Rehearse. Outing to the Calf of Man and Craig. Performance at the Ballerkermeen High School together with the Isle of Man Wind Orchestra and Manx Saxophone Ensemble
• Friday 25th July. Trip to Peel. BBQ on beach. Rehearse. Concert in Peel Cathedral with the
• Saturday 26th July. Southern Agricultural Show near Castletown. Brass band and Swing Band perform. Return to Douglas on steam train. Take Manx Electric Railway to Laxey. Visit wheel / Snaefell on mountain railway. Farewell meal.
• Sunday 27th July. Performance at Villa Marina Gardens in Douglas. Ferry back ‘across’ and thence back home.

We all had a great time and made many new friends whilst over there. This was only possible with a lot of hard work, both here at home and also those in the Isle of Man - not just ex-HUMS-pats like Jem (& family) but also the Manx Sax Ensemble and luminaries like Paul Dunderdale and the Isle of Man Arts Council, Ballerkermeen High School and many, many more.

These trips are now very much part of the annual calendar for the music school and are organised by HUMSA for the benefit of everyone. They are very social affairs and good opportunities to get to know others who you may know by sight across the school or even orchestra or band but never have the time to speak to (yes, it is really that busy on Saturday mornings!).

Next year (2009) we’re off to Norfolk.

An overview of the OFSTED inspection process is provided on their site.

There’s very little on the music school however. This isn’t surprising given that at best we were only ever going to be subject to a ‘light touch’ inspection to support the main one of the performing arts side of the college. It does say, however, that

‘The music school is very successful.’

On the face of it not a lot said. Having spoken to an OFSTED inspector though, whilst short, to be stated so clearly is unusual and high praise indeed!